Ole Spata /DPA /LANDOV

Former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, who spilled secrets about the NSA's surveillance programs, has been condemned by U.S. officials. But he's been praised by some people around the world.

KPCC's Crawford Family Forum welcomed back the Greater Los Angeles chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists as they discussed the journalistic questions brought about by the Edward Snowden NSA Scandal.

Should there be a national security exception to the First Amendment protection of freedom of speech and the press? Was the press was wrong to report the information leaked by Edward Snowden, a government contractor, about the domestic activities of the National Security Agency? Should a reporter who obtains confidential information from a government official be forced to testify or named a co-conspirator by prosecutors pursuing a case against that individual?

Listen to the entire audio of this event here:

MODERATOR:

Joel Bellman, press deputy to Los Angeles County Commissioner Zev Yaroslavsky and a member of the SPJ chapter’s board of directors

PANELISTS:

Elizabeth Martinez, media law professor in the Department of Journalism at CSUN (@ProfessorStory)

Robert Scheer, professor in the USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism. Scheer co-founded the award-winning investigative and advocacy news website, www.truthdig.com. (@Robert_Scheer)

Frank Snepp, a former CIA agent, author, professor and Peabody Award-winning investigative broadcast journalist, most recently with NBC in Los Angeles. He is the author of two books, “Decent Interval,” a 1977 memoir about the Fall of Saigon, and “Irreparable Harm,” about his court battle with the CIA over that first book.